Polypharmacy and comorbidities among ambulatory cancer patients: A cross-sectional retrospective study

Polypharmacy is prevalent among cancer patients; however, its relationship with comorbidities as well as its other potential factors has not been well studied among this segment of the patient population. Although several studies have described the prevalence of polypharmacy in cancer patients, its prevalence among Middle Eastern cancer patients is largely unknown. Therefore, the aim of this study is to assess the prevalence of polypharmacy among ambulatory cancer patients as well as its association with comorbidities.

A cross-sectional study using patients' electronic health records was conducted among ambulatory cancer patients aged ≥ 18 years in a tertiary care hospital. Polypharmacy was defined as the cumulative use of five or more medications. The main outcome was to assess the factors related to polypharmacy among ambulatory cancer patients which was evaluated using a multivariable binary logistic regression model.

A total of 383 ambulatory cancer patients were included. Of these, approximately 79% had polypharmacy. Polypharmacy was more likely among patients with hypertension (AOR = 3.24; 95% CI: 1.41-7.42), diabetes (AOR = 3.33; 95% CI: 1.39-7.98), asthma (AOR = 8.64; 95% CI: 1.64-45.54), and anxiety (AOR = 3.61; 95% CI: 1.72-7.57).

Polypharmacy is highly prevalent in the Saudi Arabian oncology patients, especially in those with comorbidities like hypertension, diabetes, anxiety and asthma. Because polypharmacy mostly goes hand in hand with comorbidities, therefore, a multidisciplinary team approach of oncology pharmacist working with other healthcare providers to manage polypharmacy and simplify drug regimens for cancer patients is warranted to optimize the healthcare quality and improve drug safety.